different between recalcitrant vs indocile

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French récalcitrant, from Latin recalcitr?ns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitr?, recalcitr?re (“be disobedient, kick back [as a horse]”), from calx (“heel”), 1820s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.?kæl.s?.t??nt/

Adjective

recalcitrant (comparative more recalcitrant, superlative most recalcitrant)

1. Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
   • 1908, Edith Wharton, "In Trust" in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories:

     His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.

   • 1914, P. G. Wodehouse, "Death at the Excelsior":

     There was something in her manner so reminiscent of the school teacher reprimanding a recalcitrant pupil that Mr. Snyder's sense of humor came to his rescue.

   • 1959 June 8, "Kenya: The Hola Scandal," Time:

     Kenya's official "Cowan Plan," named after a colonial prison administrator, decreed that recalcitrant prisoners "be manhandled to the site and forced to carry out the task."

2. Unwilling to cooperate socially.
3. Difficult to deal with or to operate.
   • 2003, Robert G. Wetzel, Solar radiation as an ecosystem modulator, in E. Walter Helbling, Horacio Zagarese (editors), UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems, page 13:

     The more labile organic constituents of complex dissolved and particulate organic matter are commonly hydrolyzed and metabolized more rapidly than more recalcitrant organic compounds that are less accessible enzymatically.

   • 2004, Derek W. Urwin, Germany: From Geographical Expression to Regional Accommodation, in Michael Keating (editor), Regions and Regionalism in Europe, page 47:

     The Hansa had no legal status, independent finances or a common institutional framework, while the major weapon against recalcitrant members (or opponents) was the threat of embargo.

   • 2006, Janet Pierrehumbert, Syllable structure and word structure: a study of triconsonantal clusters in English, in Patricia A. Keating (editor), Phonological Structure and Phonetic Form, page 179:

     Particularly recalcitrant examples which made it impossible to remove actual words while maintaining the balance of the set were resolved by altering a consonant in the base word to create a new base form.

   • 2010, Brian J. Hall, John C. Hall, Sauer's Manual of Skin Diseases, page 251:

     However, when a clinician is faced with a more recalcitrant case, it is important to remember to ask the patient whether psychological, social, or occupational stress might be contributing to the activity of the skin disorder.
4. (botany, of seed, pollen, spores) Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.

Synonyms

• (stubbornly unwilling to obey authority): argumentative, disobedient
• (difficult to operate or deal with): stubborn, unruly, adversarial, obstreperous, intransigent

See also Thesaurus:obstinate

Antonyms

• (stubbornly unwilling to obey authority): compliant, obedient
• (difficult to operate or deal with): amenable, cooperative, eager
• (not viable for long period): orthodox

Derived terms

• recalcitrance
• recalcitrancy
• recalcitrantly

Translations

Noun

recalcitrant (plural recalcitrants)

1. A person who is recalcitrant.

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French récalcitrant, from Middle French recalcitrant, from Latin recalcitr?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?re?.k?l.si?tr?nt/
• Hyphenation: re?cal?ci?trant
• Rhymes: -?nt

Adjective

recalcitrant (comparative recalcitranter, superlative recalcitrantst)

1. recalcitrant

   Synonym: weerspannig

Inflection

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re?kal.ki.trant/, [r??kä??k?t??än?t?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re?kal.t??i.trant/, [r??k?l??t??it???n?t?]

Verb

recalcitrant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of recalcitr?

Romanian

Etymology

From French récalcitrant.

Adjective

recalcitrant m or n (feminine singular recalcitrant?, masculine plural recalcitran?i, feminine and neuter plural recalcitrante)

1. recalcitrant

Declension

English

Etymology

From either the French indocile or the Latin indocilis.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ?nd??s?l, ?nd??s?l, IPA^(key): /?n?d??sa?l/, /?n?d?s?l/

Adjective

indocile (comparative more indocile, superlative most indocile)

1. Unwilling to be taught or instructed; intractable or recalcitrant.

Derived terms

• indocileness

Related terms

• indocible (obsolete) ?
  • indocibility (obsolete)
  • indocibleness (obsolete)
  • indocible of (obsolete)
• indocility

References

• “indocile, a.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]

Italian

Etymology

From Latin indocilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in?d?.t??i.le/

Adjective

indocile (plural indocili)

1. unruly, refractory, intractable

   Antonym: docile

Derived terms

• indocilmente

Related terms

• indocilità

Further reading

• indocile in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Adjective

indocile

1. nominative neuter singular of indocilis
2. accusative neuter singular of indocilis
3. vocative neuter singular of indocilis